IRISH author Alan Glynn has struck it rich with his novel The Dark Fields now adapted for the big screen under the title Limitless, and which opens here this weekend.
Drug-enhanced or not, not to mention a few loopy ideas, it led the box office in the States last Friday with seven million dollars;
it cost around twenty-seven million to make, a mere snip nowadays.
With a running time of 105 minutes, there are times when Limitless, with Robert De Niro in a lead role, makes little sense, but along the way there are plenty of thrills, suspense and a few laughs, with a commanding performance by Bradley Cooper.
In essence, this Relativity Media movie is about an extremely attractive but lonely and unemployed writer who, after meeting his ex-brother-in-law, (who used to be a drug dealer), takes a “smart pill”, called NZT, and is transformed into a successful businessman, Eddie Morra, (Cooper).
Allowing humans to completely utilize 100% of their brain, the tiny clear tablet is Eddie’s godsend.
Within days, he’s finished his book, cleaned up his act, and is back with his last gal pal Lindy (Abby Cornish). Hoping to make a killing in the market, he borrows money from the Russian mob and begins bankrolling huge profits.
This catches the eye of big-time wheeler and dealer Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro). He wants Eddie on his team. Little does he know that our hero is down to his last few samples and is on the run from both the gangsters he borrowed from and the drug’s damaging side effects.
